A known image reading apparatus includes a main unit and an openable unit which is rotatably connected via a hinge member to the main unit.
In the image reading apparatus, the openable unit includes a document tray on which a document is placed, a feeder that feeds the document along a feed path, and a reading portion which is disposed facing the feed path and configured to read an image of the document passing through the feed path. The main unit includes a main unit-side reading portion which is disposed facing the feed path and configured to read an image of a document passing along the feed path, and a control circuit board configured to perform controls based on output signals of the reading portion and/or output signals of the main unit-side reading portion. Additionally, a cable configured to transmit output signals of the reading portion to the control circuit board may be included on a rear side of the main unit and the openable unit.
Generally, in the image reading apparatus, the feeder, the reading portion, and the main unit-side reading portion operate under control of the control circuit board, and an image reading process that reads an image of a document passing the feed path is performed.
The image reading apparatus may further include an image forming unit which is disposed in the main unit and configured to form an image on a recording medium. As the image forming unit operates under the control of the control circuit board, the image reading apparatus can be regarded as a multifunction apparatus capable of performing an image reading process for reading an image of a document and an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium.
In the past, a thick cable has been used to transmit the output signals of the reading portion of the openable unit to the control circuit board of the main unit. However, the cable has, in at least some instances, been substituted for a flexible flat cable of which a plurality of coated wires are united to form a flat shape. However, if the flexible flat cable is excessively twisted or bent in a routing path or the routing path is too long, the flexible flat cable is likely to sustain undesired problems such as a break or noise. As a result, in an image reading or image forming process, irregularity in an image may occur.